Sunday, May 30, 2010

2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. ...

Al Gore

Or ... is this a 10 Trillion Dollar Climate Fraud?

Seven steps to becoming a Multi-Billionaire:1. Create a perceived world crisis of monumental cataclysmic proportions.2. Get some in the scientific community to support your conclusions, to twist the truth, and recommend your foolish cap and trade solution.3. Write a book. Make a movie. The environmentalists, mainstream media, politicians, and eventually the people follow.4. Create the world's primary financial outlet to distribute and trade carbon credits.5. Convince the US government to force your solution on the American people.6. Sit back and collect a hidden fee, on every product sold around the world ... from all of the poor consumers subject to your evil scheme.7. Laugh all the way to the bank, as you commute by Gulfstream from your wooded estate, to your 10 Million dollar ocean view hideaway.

Have certain people, corporations, and politicians set up the American people for the biggest financial fraud in the history of the world?

YOU BE THE JUDGE ...

So it kind of shocks me when there's no outcry to news stories like this one reported in the Financial Times over the weekend: The "U.S. is preparing to pivot from domestic regulatory reform to push for a tough new international capital regime." Excuse me?

We're talking about the foundation of international financial regulations and global governing. It's a trial balloon being floated out there and I guess it was a success because the response was complete and total silence.Is it just me who thinks this is a bad idea? Am I alone? I guess so, because even Republicans are OK with this one.

How could that happen? Easy: It's those evil, greedy Wall Street executives! Like the ones at Goldman Sachs, who are appearing before the almighty Senate Tuesday to get grilled by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (sounds scary) about their so-called attempts to manipulate and profit off the crash of the housing market.

They'll get chewed out and made an example of by people like Chris Dodd, who joined in the chorus of Goldman haters on "Meet the Press" on Sunday: QUOTESSEN. CHRIS DODD, D-CONN.: "Here we are, 17 months after someone broke into our house in effect and robbed us... and we still haven't changed the locks on the doors."LARRY SUMMERS, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: "These off-balance sheet, nontransparent vehicles with what people call implicit guarantees, invite these kinds of problems."SEN. RICHARD SHELBY, R-ALA.: "We have to end once and for all the casino atmosphere on Wall Street, where they're gambling, basically, on synthetic ideas and so forth — with somebody else's money." End QUOTESYou're right, Chris: You have to change those locks. But the other thing to make sure of is that the people you are calling to change the locks aren't the same ones who were involved with the robbery in the first place.

Yes, Dodd and his buddies will chew out Goldman, but if they are the root of all evil, why do these people all still work in the administration?• William C. Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; was a partner and managing director at Goldman• Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; spent 18 years at Goldman• Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Tim Geithner; former Goldman lobbyist• Philip Murphy; nominated for ambassador to Germany; former Goldman executive• Diana Farrell; deputy director of the National Economic Council; formerly with Goldman• Emil Michael; White House fellow; former investment banker with GoldmanThere's just a few. And if Goldman really are the bad guys, we have bigger problems than regulation, because we have to talk about global warming as well.

In case you didn't know the Chicago Climate Exchange existed — it does and it started trading in 2003. It's billed as: "North America's only cap-and-trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide." Members agree to a voluntary but legally binding agreement to "meet annual Green House Gas emission reduction targets."What's cap-and-trade? A scheme designed to transfer wealth from the companies that have to the companies that have not through the regulation of invisible gases. Remember, it was ENRON who lobbied heavily for this type of system, because they knew how to swindle a profit out of it.

Environmentalists like Obama want this system because it will make prices skyrocket and people will be forced to use less energy. But I don't want to put words in his mouth, I'll let him say it:

Got it? So the main beneficiaries will be big corporations and proponents of the redistribution of wealth. You are the loser here because you pay more for energy. But you can feel good because you saved the planet.

Uh-huh. Not to mention, other places — like Europe — who have tried to implement green initiatives (like Spain) and then base markets on it are suffering the consequences. Because, as Time unwittingly described the creation of Chicago Climate Exchange, it "creates something out of nothing." There is no value behind the market; it's like Pets.com except now its solar panels.

So who would want to create something like this?In 2000 and 2001, Chicago Climate Exchange received start-up grants from the Joyce Foundation. The Joyce Foundation is like the George Soros' TIDES Foundation. In fact, it's actually bigger than TIDES and even funds TIDES. Think of it as a place where uber-rich and powerful liberals like to dump their money into, so the cash can be spread around to their pet projects without a direct link. The Joyce Foundation supports such luminaries as John Ayers (William Ayers' brother).

Barack Obama was an influential member on the board of the Joyce Foundation at the time the Chicago Climate Exchange got its seed money; he was instrumental in steering the funds towards the creation of the Chicago Climate Exchange. He was on the board from 1994-2002. The founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange, Richard Sandor, said that he "knew Obama well," which is perhaps how the money was awarded to the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where Sandor was a research professor.

Sandor saw big things in a climate exchange market. How big?BLOOMBERG REPORTER: "So how big do you think this market could be?"RICHARD SANDOR, CHICAGO CLIMATE EXCHANGE: "I think it's a $10 trillion a year market."REPORTER: "Say that again?"SANDOR: "$10 trillion a year."A $10 trillion a year market? That's a lot to go around. In comparison, the value of U.S. company shares on major U.S. and foreign stock exchanges equities market was $15 trillion in 2009. There's a lot of money riding on this climate legislation. But remember: It's all about saving the Earth.

London-based Generation Investment Management sees the earning potential as well. That's why they purchased a stake in Chicago Climate Exchange and are the fifth largest shareholder. The co-founder of the London-based firm? Former Vice President Al Gore. I say co-founder because some of the other founders include David Blood (former Goldman executive), Mark Ferguson (Goldman) and Peter Harris (Goldman).In 2006, the Chicago Climate Exchange got a nice boost of confidence when an investor stepped to the plate and ponied up to purchase 10 percent of the combined company. Co-founder of the Chicago Exchange said the investment was big and welcome news. The investor? Goldman Sachs.Oh and I almost forgot: The person at the beginning of it all? The one on the board of the Joyce Foundation that secured the initial funding for this project? Barack Obama. Isn't this interesting that so many former Goldman Sachs executives are now working in the Obama administration. This is so weird. It's almost like those our government says are responsible for the financial collapse are the ones directly involved in the "solutions." So much for "changing the locks," Chris.

OK, now let's look at this. What you have is a structure. This is the building: the Exchange. You've got the structure, all the players.So what are we missing? Well, we're missing the bill and the technology to make it happen; the machinery to make it happen. You are trading air; it's hard to keep track of air. The good news is, the bill is being worked on by Republicans and Democrats. That's cap-and-trade.

The machinery, the device? A patent for such a device was worked on by CO2e.com CEO Carlton Bartels. Shortly after he filed for the patent on his system to trade residential carbon credits, he was killed in the 9/11 attacks. Bartels wife then shopped the idea around and was able to find a buyer. The buyer ended up being a guy who wasn't really a good guy, he committed massive accounting fraud and manipulated earnings in his company in order to make huge bonuses. That person was Franklin Raines, who just happened to be the CEO of Fannie Mae at the time. The patent was eventually approved by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office on Nov. 7, 2006 — coincidentally the day after Democrats took control of Congress. Thanks to Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner for pointing this out to us.

Fannie Mae, who is congressionally mandated to "make housing more affordable," is poised to reap billions on a system that has nothing to do with housing except for that it would make housing costs go up. That's great. Remember when Fannie purchased risky mortgages from banks, bundled them together and sold to investors as mortgage-backed securities? And then the housing market was absolutely destroyed? Well, former Fannie VP Scott Lesmes was responsible for that bundling. Well, here's the good news: Not only will this new carbon trading "system" try the exact same bundling method (except with air); they are using the exact same guy: Scott Lesmes.

But, please, don't worry. The only ones involved in this are the corrupt Franklin Raines, Mr. redistribution of wealth Barack Obama, and all the people who the House and Senate are currently saying are the bad guys. Other than that, this should work out great. It's almost like Goldman is willing to take a little heat now, in order to get a little piece of the $10 trillion green pie later.

I challenge the media: Will anyone pick this story up? Will anyone question this and the timing of it all? All of a sudden illegal immigration has leap-frogged global warming? Is it because Goldman has to take hits to get the global government structure done? And then they get the payoff? Or will you continue to say oh, he's crazy and not talk about the facts. Glen Beck, April 26, 2010"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."God Bless you my friends, Bob

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Author UnknownI find no evidence that this was written by Albert Einstein in 1921 as reported on the internet, but it certainly shows much wisdom, and I must say I only wish I had written it! ... Bob West

Albert Einstein

"Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good?Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of waterfrom a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer.

"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?"

There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him.'

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelled your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.

The room suddenly becomes very quiet.

The student begins to explain, "You can have lots of heat, even more heat,super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero,which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir.

Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen,much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is t o be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?"

The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol,science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

God Bless you my friends, BobThanks to Al and Kit Eaton for this postPray to receive Jesus Christ as Savior

Let’s hear it for Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) for his stirring rebuttal to Mexican President Calderon’s shameless (and shameful) address to Congress yesterday. This made me want to stand up and shout “Hurray!”

President Obama, President Calderon, and all of our elected representatives in both the House AND Senate, and in every city and state, across the USA only need to follow one principle: when in America ... "OBEY OUR LAWS". The vast majority of the problems we are experiencing with illegal immigration, and the funding of our troubled health care, and educational systems would go away if our politicians, those people here illegally, and their employers would just OBEY OUR LAWS. This is not the time for the Democrats or Republicans to play political games with the future of our great country. The American people need to stand up and VOTE out all incumbents ... regardless of party who continue leading our nation by playing the "Politics As Usual" game. OBEY OUR LAWS or WE VOTE YOU OUT.

For many Democrats and others in attendance to give a standing ovation to Calderon is a disgrace to all Americans. We must all stand against the willful violation of America's laws by those who have been sworn in to uphold our laws which includes all of those standing and applauding Calderon's speech.

VOTE THEM OUT!

ALL PATRIOTIC AMERICANS NEED TO STAND UP AND DEFEND OUR BORDERS AND THE FREEDOMS THAT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR ... OTHERWISE, WE WILL LOSE OUR NATION AND ALL OF OUR FREEDOMS!

Monday, May 24, 2010

1 John 4: 1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus; is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Our problem in America and the world is clearly exposed in yesterdays post (read it) written by Mark Steyn. There are actually two Islams in the world. The first Islam is presented as a peaceful Islam. This religion is only trying to live peaceably with the rest of the world and represents the vast majority of Muslims, especially in America ... this is clearly true. But the second Islam is much different. This second Islam is Radical Islam and its objective is to conquer the world. Radical Islam is presented as only a small number of people who have broken away from the mainstream. The problem for Peaceful Islam is that the beliefs of Radical Islam are clearly outlined by their Beloved prophet in the Qur’an. The fact that they disregard these teachings does not change this fact. How can their prophet be so wrong, if his teachings are divine? The battle plan has been launched on the world on multiple fronts. This post is about Radical Islam. The seven primary lines of attack of Radical Islam are Ignorance, Guerilla Warfare, Religious Freedom, Fear, Force, and Time.

Ignorance: Most of the western world thinks of Radical Islam and its ways as ancient, unsophisticated, backwards, and of minor concern. This is a major mistake. It is an ignorance to be exploited. The second ignorance is that of the unknowing followers who are easily recruited into the war with false ideas of virgins for martyrdom, and blindly following evil tactics. The third ignorance is that Radical Islam has a small number of followers. Due to the evil and secrecy of the movement, one can only guess at the number of followers. But with 1.2 billion followers of Islam, a group of Radicals totaling 1/10 of 1% would result in over 1.2 million followers worldwide, hidden in the midst of Peaceful Islam. I am convinced that it has been proven without a doubt, that children’s minds are easily controlled. As a result, I believe that if the opportunity presented itself, as many as one hundred million or more are devoted followers who would give their life in the fight for Radical Islam. Defenders of Radical Islam are an even much larger group. This group would include multitudes of Peaceful Islam’s people who are relatives and friends of Islamic Radicals.

Guerilla Warfare: a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc. This system is currently in different stages of training and implementation worldwide. The 911 attack was clearly a mistake, because it brought attention and counter-attack to Al Qaeda and it's leaders.

Religious Freedom: This is the door through which Radical Islam enters countries and sets up its recruiting and training centers, and establishes points of attack. The mosques open doors everywhere for Radical Islam to hide behind, inside enemy (you and me, and our country’s) strongholds. Religious Freedom is a major key to the movement’s success, since it is one of those checkmate issues. If these radicals were KKK or Nazis, they could easily be hunted down and neutralized, but when hiding behind their freedom of religion, even patriotic Christian believers like me, are the first to unknowingly jump to their defense. Other unsuspecting defenders of religious freedom for all, would include most western liberals and conservatives with all forms of religious and secular beliefs, including even Jews.Fear: Radical Islam uses fear as a valuable weapon. Young followers of Islam are taught that to challenge the teachings of Islam, leave the religion or even post a picture or drawing of the prophet can result in a death sentence by beheading. More radical countries force followers to attend public meetings where heads, hands and feet are cut off as a warning to all, not to stray. A well-known and deadly fatwa was issued by Osama bin Laden in 1998 called for Muslims to execute Americans and their allies. Because of these types of threats many who would normally speak out remain silent.

Force: Attacking with deadly force with no concern for women and children or innocents is no problem for Radical Islam. Anyone who is not a follower of Islam is the enemy and is considered the equivalent of a pig. The deadly force as displayed by a suicide bomber or on 911 are ongoing examples of force used to spread fear which is used to control followers and convert unbelievers.

Time: While liberal ideology has resulted in the spread of abortion and population control in Europe and throughout the world, Islam encourages it's followers to create an average of 8.1 children per family. This is compared to 1.38 children per family on average throughout all of Europe. This has resulted in exponential Islamic growth, that will lead to total Islamic control of all of Europe within 50 years or less. Some countries such as Italy will come under Islamic control much more quickly. This is not reversible. The children have already been born or are about to be born and time will bring them to adulthood.(MUST WATCH). Islam is using some of this material as an Islamic training video. There is already a push to force Islamic Sharia law in some countries of Europe, and this will surely be the end result once Islamic population majorities are accomplished. Sharia law will bring the form of slavery that forces conversion or subjection to what Islam calls dhimmitude. click here Dhimmitude results in forced conversion or Islamic slavery for all non-believers.

Never happen ... crazy, you say? Okay, how do you suggest we stop it from happening? Just consider the hopelessness of the illegal immigration in the USA and understand that this is a force 1000 times harder to stop. Radical Islam is based upon the teachings of the Muslim Qur’an. Muslim children are being brainwashed with these teachings. Does it bother you that Muslim girls are subjected to undergo “female genital mutilation, FGM”, also known as a clitoridectomy, and that it has been recently suggested by the American Association of Pediatricians that this barbaric ritual be legalized in America in the spirit of multi-cultural compromise and religious freedom? Where are the liberals and women’s rights groups on this horrible perversion? How dare these crazed fanatics impose this evil carnage and bondage on innocent baby girls. When and where in the free world will the cutting off of hands, feet, and heads begin?(PROBLEMS)(SOLUTIONS)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

by Mark SteynWhat with the Fort Hood mass murderer, the Christmas Pantybomber, and now the Times Square bomber, you may have noticed a little uptick in attempted terrorist attacks on the U.S. mainland in the last few months.

Rep. Lamar Smith did, and, at the House Judiciary Committee, he was interested to see if the attorney general of the United States thought there might be any factor in common between these perplexingly diverse incidents.

“In the case of all three attempts in the last year, the terrorist attempts, one of which was successful, those individuals have had ties to radical Islam,” said Representative Smith. “Do you feel that these individuals might have been incited to take the actions that they did because of radical Islam?”

“Because of . . . ?”

“Radical Islam,” repeated Smith.

“There are a variety of reasons why I think people have taken these actions,” replied Eric Holder noncommittally. “I think you have to look at each individual case.”

The congressman tried again. “Yes, but radical Islam could have been one of the reasons?”

“There are a variety of reasons why people . . . ”

“But was radical Islam one of them?”

“There are a variety of reasons why people do things,” the attorney general said again. “Some of them are potentially religious . . . ” Stuff happens. Hard to say why.

“Okay,” said Smith. “But all I’m asking is if you think, among those variety of reasons, radical Islam might have been one of the reasons that the individuals took the steps that they did.”

“You see, you say ‘radical Islam,’” objected Holder. “I mean, I think those people who espouse a — a version of Islam that is not . . . ”

And so on, and so forth. At Ford Hood, Major Hasan jumped on a table and gunned down his comrades while screaming “Allahu Akbar!” — which is Arabic for “Nothing to see here” and an early indicator of pre-post-traumatic stress disorder. The Times Square bomber, we are assured by the Washington Post, CNN, and Newsweek, was upset by foreclosure proceedings on his house. Mortgage-related issues. Nothing to do with months of training at a Taliban camp in Waziristan.

Listening to Attorney General Holder, one is tempted to modify Trotsky: You may not be interested in Islam, but Islam is interested in you. Islam smells weakness at the heart of the West. The post–World War II order is dying: The European Union’s decision to toss a trillion dollars to prop up a Greek economic model that guarantees terminal insolvency is merely the latest manifestation of the chronic combination of fiscal profligacy and demographic decline in the West at twilight. Islam is already the biggest supplier of new Europeans and new Canadians, and the fastest-growing demographic in the Western world. Therefore, it thinks it not unreasonable to shape the character of those societies — not by blowing up buildings and airplanes, but by determining the nature of their relationship to Islam.

For example, the very same day that Eric Holder was doing his “Islam? What Islam?” routine at the Capitol, the Organization of the Islamic Conference was tightening its hold on the U.N. Human Rights Council — actually, make that the U.N. “Human Rights” Council. The OIC is the biggest voting bloc at the U.N., and it succeeded in getting its slate of candidates elected to the so-called “human rights” body — among them the Maldives, Qatar, Malaysia, Mauritania, and Libya. The last, elected to the HRC by 80 percent of the U.N. membership, is, of course, a famous paragon of human rights, but the other, “moderate” Muslim nations share the view that Islam, in both its theological and political components, should be beyond discussion. And they will support the U.N.’s rapid progress toward, in effect, the imposition of a global apostasy law that removes Islam from public discourse.

Attorney General Holder seems to be operating an advance pilot program of his own, but he’s not alone. Also last week, the head of Canada’s intelligence service testified to the House of Commons about hundreds of “second- or third-generation Canadians” who are “relatively well integrated” “economically and socially” but who have become so “very, very disenchanted” with “the way we want to structure our society” that they have developed “strong links to homelands” that are “in distress.” Homelands such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.

Hmm. If you’re wondering what those countries might have in common, keep wondering. No words beginning with “I-” and ending with “-slam” passed the director’s lips. If the head of the Crown’s intelligence service has narrowed his concerns about “disenchanted” “second- or third-generation Canadians” to any demographic group in particular, evidently it’s classified information and can’t be disclosed in public.

The U.N. elections are a big victory for the Organization of the Islamic Conference. By the way, to my liberal friends who say, “Hey, what’s the big deal about the Organization of the Islamic Conference? Lighten up, man”: Try rolling around your tongue the words “Organization of the Christian Conference.” Would you be quite so cool with that? Fifty-seven prime ministers and presidents who get together and vote as a bloc in international affairs? Or would that be a theocratic affront to secular sensibilities? The casual acceptance of the phrase “the Muslim world” (“Mr. Obama’s now-famous speech to the Muslim world” — the New York Times) implicitly defers to the political ambitions of Islam. And, if there is a “Muslim world,” what are its boundaries? Forty years ago, the OIC began with mainly Middle Eastern members plus Indonesia and a couple more. By the Nineties, former Soviet Central Asia had signed on, plus Albania, Mozambique, Guyana, and various others. In 2005, Russia was admitted to “observer” membership.

But along with the big headline victories go smaller ones. These days, Islam doesn’t even have to show up. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has quietly pulled representations of Mohammed from its Islamic collection. With the Danish cartoons, violent mobs actually had to kill large numbers of people before Kurt Westegaard was sent into involuntary “retirement.” Even with South Park, the thugs still had to threaten murder. But the Metropolitan Museum caved preemptively — no murders, no threats, but best to crawl into a fetal position anyway.

Last week, the American Association of Pediatricians noted that certain, ahem, “immigrant communities” were shipping their daughters overseas to undergo “female genital mutilation.” So, in a spirit of multicultural compromise, they decided to amend their previous opposition to the practice: They’re not (for the moment) advocating full-scale FGM, but they are suggesting federal and state laws be changed to permit them to give a “ritual nick” to young girls.

A few years back, I thought even fainthearted Western liberals might draw the line at “FGM.” After all, it’s a key pillar of institutional misogyny in Islam: Its entire purpose is to deny women sexual pleasure.

Der Spiegel, an impeccably liberal magazine, summed up the remorseless Islamization of Europe in a recent headline: “How Much Allah Can the Old Continent Bear?” Well, what’s wrong with a little Allah-lite? The AAP thinks you can hop on the sharia express and only ride a couple of stops. In such ostensibly minor concessions, the “ritual nick” we’re performing is on ourselves. Further cuts will follow.

Mathew 5:38-48 You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Roman law gave their soldiers the authority to force anyone to carry their loads for the distance of one Roman mile (a thousand paces). This law was commonly applied at any time and in a variety of ways, but most likely, the context was of a soldier forcing the Jews to carry their heavy armor. Jesus obviously had witnessed this practice of the soldiers many times along the roads and paths, from town to town. Also, Jesus knew how much the people despised the Romans for capturing Israel, as well as the soldiers for rubbing their Roman superiority in the Jews faces daily.

Picture yourself on a long journey walking down the road to Jerusalem.Only a few more miles, and you will be able to get that long awaited cool drink of water, and shade to shield you from the blistering sun. You happen upon a Roman soldier, going in the opposite direction. He calls out to you: "You there, I command you to carry my armor." In addition to the inconvenience and the fact that the armor was a very heavy burden; the Jews believed that all non-Jews were unclean. Being forced to carry the armor left them unclean spiritually, and potentially unable to even complete their day, as planned. Also, by going a mile in the wrong direction as forced, you were actually extending your journey by two miles. But the Jews did as they were told, begrudgingly, to be sure. To do otherwise would mean to be beaten on the spot, or imprisoned or even worse, crucified. Now after fulfilling your duty, you continue along the road towards your destination only to come across another soldier, who also captures you for a mile. Perhaps, you can begin to understand the depth of the resentment that the Jews carried in their hearts for the Soldiers. Most likely, many decided to not walk the road to town, but rather take a more remote and perilous route in order avoid the soldiers.

Jesus Christ’s answer; "Go another mile" to the bitterness in their hearts, must have rubbed many the wrong way. Jesus' new teaching would actually extend their trip by a total of four miles. But this instruction is not about the obvious wrongness of the Roman law, and its burdensome application against the people. It is about their hearts and minds. His teaching is contrary to common sense. Jesus is still speaking to us today, on a deeper level. This principle is about His reaching out with His love through us to the world. It is about retraining and transforming our minds to guide our body in His loving ways.

I cannot remember a pastor preaching on actually applying these verses in our daily life. Have you ever wondered, why not? Most likely, you have not meditated much on them either. It is uncomfortable to dwell on that which we are hard-pressed and don't want to change in ourselves. Why do we not set our mind on this, our Savior’s most important sermon ... more often?

1. These verses don’t make sense to you.2. They expose your personal failings.3. You have unconsciously rejected these truths.4. You believe it, but you just can’t do it.5. It makes no sense, you don't want to do it..

I’m wrong, you say? Okay let’s do a quick check. Are you ready to apply the above scripture to suicide bombers? Or, to corrupt politicians who lie to you? Or, to a law that greatly increases already unjust taxes? Are you willing to turn the other cheek when wronged, or do you counter-attack? How about making a loan to someone, who you know will never pay you back? When someone slanders you, do you pray for them and lovingly reach out to them? Do you allow an evil person to take advantage of you? Do you love people who have wronged you and pray for them? Sound impossible? Welcome to planet earth. These ideas are not only hard to accept, they are foreign to us.

This must be a parable with hidden meaning, you say? No, the instruction is right there … in plain sight. Jesus lived and continues to live the above scripture in full, all day, every day and every night. “For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” This instruction is about transforming you from the inside out. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." In this context ... the verses above, which make no sense from a human perspective ... make perfect sense. This isn't about the old you. It's about Him living through the new you, and you cannot do that through human effort (that's the old way), no matter how hard you try. You are instructed to put on His loving ways, and surely He wants you to do your best, but only resting in Him, and allowing His Holy Spirit to guide you in the perfect way will bring about His Perfect Love.

Think about that … God always loves you and every other person in the world … no matter what you, or they do.At your worst moment, God loved you the same as if it were your best moment.Those who have rejected Jesus Christ and His free gift of eternal life are loved by Him regardless of the consequences they have chosen for themselves. The reason all of this makes no sense to you is because it is not about you. It is about Him and His perfect love, living through you. The love of Christ is a love incapable of pride or lust. A foreign thought from above is often a Paradox Principle. Only when we are resting in Him, is the Holy Spirit free to work through us with the application of His love. this love is so foreign to us, it will likely come as a surprise, when His love is applied through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But we can work at it on a human level and experience extraordinary results. We should always pray for our enemies for God's help as instructed. Another example, “going the extra mile” is a winning principle in personal relations and business. I have taught this in sales training for many years. If you develop the habit of always trying to give others twice as much service as you promised them, or to double whatever it is that they expect to receive from you … your return will increase immeasurably. But of course, the way of Christ is way beyond this worldly line of thinking. Christ has no desire for monetary return. The love of Christ is the essence of His nature. He does not put on love, expecting something in return. It is who He is, at his very core. Abide Above.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

John 15:12. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

This verse is the essence of the Christian life.All of who we are and who Christ calls us to be is summed up in this one verse: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." From a casual glance, it seems simple. It is His purpose statement for us. But when we ask the questions: “how do I define the love of Christ? And how can I see the love of Christ transform my life into the fulfillment of God's purpose?”… The paradox becomes evident. It may sound simple, but when one approaches this deepest issue of them all casually, which is so often the case, it results in a shallowness of character. In reality, this love when meditated upon is totally foreign to your old nature. When you meditate on this verse, you will learn that there is no end to the depth of its meaning. If we could fully grasp the Love of Christ, all that He is would consume us. His Love is all encompassing. Not only does it define Christ’s character but if we could actually become one with Christ here, we would be like Christ … lacking in nothing. Paul expands on the depth of Christ’s love when he says: Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10. For me, to write about this brings me to a loss for words, because I quickly realize my unworthiness to even attempt to describe it. So what is the purpose of this post? A wake up call for you and me … that is the best I can do. My prayer is that you will read this and meditate on the love of Christ and that He will show you how he wants to live His love through you. So my purpose here is to meditate on His love and write to you the truths and questions He brings to my mind for you. In any event, this is only a small glimpse of the many facets of the Love of Christ.

Questions to ask yourself about the Love of Christ:

Are you are already one with His love eternally?Do you see yourself positioned in Christ’s Love in Heaven? Are you resting and abiding in Him?Are you at peace whether in good or bad times as you rest in the love of Christ?Does the Holy Spirit reveal the character of His love to you as you meditate on His Holy Word?Are your old ways and worldly priorities guiding you, or are you following the love of Christ?Is the Holy Spirit bringing you His joy and His happiness, as you allow His love to control you?Is His purpose living through you, as Christ brings His blessings and His happiness to you and others?Are you resting in your heavenly position, living in His Happiness … abiding above the cares of the world?Are you focused on His truth, and not dwelling on the issues of the world?Are you focused on the Old testament laws, or are you meditating on the love of Christ?Is His righteousness drawing others to Christ through you, as you rest in His love?Do you have a character problem in your daily walk ... are you meditating on the Love of Christ?Do not see others according to the flesh, or from a worldly point of view?Humility is the first sign that Christ’s love; is humility having its way with your old nature?Are you are practicing humility, as you stand on the truth? Put off the old image of yourself. It is dead. Are pride and arrogance foreign to you?Do you glorify you old nature by putting on a cool or worldly exterior?Is the love of Christ flowing back out from within, as you meditate on his love by the power of the Holy Spirit?As you renew your mind, is the Holy Spirit transforming you from within, allowing you to grow in the way that pleases the Lord?Are you praying for inward transformation, rather than outward imitation?Do you abhor evil and sin in the world, and in your body and mind?Are you seeking out the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive? Are you an encourager?Have the things of the world lost importance to you?Do the things of the world ... no longer stand between you and Christ?Have you set your mind on the things above?Do you now view all that is in the world from God's perspective?Has sin become abhorrent to you?Does the love of Christ lead you to pray for others? Have your old ways passed away; and are new priorities ruling and guiding your life?Have you will become a minister of reconciliation, and an ambassador for Christ ... and is His righteousness living through you?Is His grace sufficient for you, or are you constantly striving for more than He provides?Has the comfort of others will become more important to you than your own comfort?Do you see problems and solutions from a deeper perspective … is His Word leading you?Has the eternal salvation of everyone you come into contact with become most important to you?Are you no longer be controlled by jealousy, anger, resentment, bitterness and pride?Has your prideful spirit been broken?Has your gentleness become one of the ways others describe you?Do you speak evil of no man?Have you ceased being quarrelsome about the things of the world?Do you have great confidence in who you are in Christ?Is your faith similar to that of a little child?Is your love and forgiveness for others similar to your feelings towards your children and grandchildren?Do you have a burning in your heart to know the truth?Are you resting and allowing God’s Word to define who you are from inside out; and has this become natural for you?Does Christ's mercy and concern for others consume you?Is your forgiveness towards others never-ending, and does it require little effort?Have your prayers taken on new meaning and power?Do you see God in all things?Are you a peacemaker and are you at peace with all men?Do you stand firm for the truth and ALL that is right and true in God’s eyes?Are those who are following the old ways standing against you, and accusing you falsely?Do you go the extra mile?

Your reward will be great in Heaven.

The most important disciplines to learn are to rest in your position, meditate on the Word, and pray for the Holy Spirit to transform you.Your understanding of who you are in Christ will give you absolute certainty of your eternal salvation.

When the Love of Christ controls you, it is always: “not I, but Christ.”

Meditate on the Word …God Bless you my friends, BobPray to receive Christ as Savior.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

One of the basic principles of sharing Christ with your friends is that you have to present some bad news before you can share the good news.

The Bible contains both bad news and good news. The bad news is that we have a very serious problem. The Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NET).The word that catches our eye is “sinned.” “All have sinned.” You can ask grammar school students what sin is and they can tell you in the flash of an eye what sin is. We sin when we lie, cheat, steal, lust, hate, gossip, murder, etc. But it is more than that; it is anything that does not glorify a holy and righteous God in our lives.

The “glory of God” is his standard for people. We keep trying to reach His standard and we come up short. A friend of mine said it is like trying to throw stones at the North Pole. No matter how hard you try you could never hit the North Pole with a rock. We always come up short when try to satisfy God’s righteousness. He is perfect, but we are imperfect. We are sinners by our attitudes, and our actions.Now if that is not bad enough, our problem gets worse. The Bible says there is a penalty attached to our problem with sin. It is bad enough that we are sinners, but the Bible says, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The "payoff" of sin is death. The "wages" or "payoff" was used in reference to the soldier's pay. "The soul that sins will surely die." That is the payoff.There is a big difference between working for a salary and receiving a free gift. If you work for a company your employer pays you a salary for the work you do. The Bible tells us that when we sin we earn a wage and it pays in death. It is a spiritual death that separates us eternally from God. The sad truth is we deserve it because we are sinners.

The barrier between God and us is so great that we cannot overcome it in our own power, good works, religion, philosophy, self-righteousness, etc.

However, there is some good news in God’s Word for us.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ died for us. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8 NET). This verse of Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ loved us so much that he was willing to die for us. Let’s suppose that you were guilty of murder, and the capital punishment by lethal injection is the penalty. That penalty is going to be paid. You must die. Out of grace I decide to take your punishment on myself and die in your place. You would then be set free because the penalty had been paid in full on your behalf.

The Bible tells us that is exactly what Christ did for you. Christ took your penalty that you deserve for sin, placed it upon himself, and died in your place (2 Cor. 5:21). There is no greater love than that.The evidence that God accepted the full payment of your sin debt is that Jesus rose from the dead. The Bible says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation” (Romans 10:9-10 NET).

Salvation is God’s fee gift to everyone who believes on Jesus Christ as their Savior.Again, the Bible says, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NET).

Jesus Christ is the only answer to the problem that separates us from God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). This is why we must put our faith in Him alone to save us. You must put your trust in him just as you would trust a chair to hold you up and keep you from falling to the floor. You must trust in Jesus Christ to get you to heaven. Trusting in good works, religion, philosophy, keeping the law, going to church, etc. will not help. Salvation is not a wage God pays for your good behavior. It is a gift of His grace, freely given to the sinner who repents and believes on Christ to save him. When you trust in Christ alone, God gives you eternal life as His free gift.

Jesus said, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NET). Ask Jesus Christ to save you right now. Pray something like this if it comes from your heart: “Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I deserve to be punished. I believe that you died for me on the cross to pay my penalty. I know that you are alive right now in heaven and that you are listening to my prayer. I trust you alone to forgive me of all my sins and give me everlasting life with you in heaven. Thank you for saving me. Amen.” Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

1 Corinthians 1: 26-31 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

Can you even imagine who we have become as we are positioned in Christ? We are instructed to consider our calling, and that it is by God’s doing that we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We can’t even take credit for the act of choosing to follow Christ … it was His doing in the beginning. That's how far back Jesus was considering you and me and chose us and called us to be his people. Think about it, when God was creating the heavens and the earth and Adam and Eve and everything that is or ever has been ... you and I were in His thoughts. And in Him, Christ became (past tense) to us: wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. Now let’s follow Gods instruction to … Consider your calling:

Christ became to us wisdom from God. When we consider ourselves called to this position of wisdom from God, it is easy to believe that when we are in heaven and we are one with Christ that we will have His wisdom, but what about now? What do you have now? Do you have wisdom? I don't feel like I have God's wisdom or that I am wisdom ... do you? Of course ... you do have wisdom … you have the word and you have the helper, the Holy Spirit to guide you. Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17. The fact is that in reality, we quite often don't seek God's counsel, but instead allow our mind to go on auto-pilot and follow our old ways and the ways of the world ... but this doesn't change the truth. The truth is never changing. Have you put on the mind of Christ? Or are you still being confused by the wisdom of the world? Although we will not have the complete wisdom of Christ as long as we are in the world and in our old bodies, but when we abide above, we are testing all things and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, rather than the foolishness and lust of the world. The result is that we are guided by God’s wisdom and the world will see His wisdom living through us, and be drawn to Him through us. We only need to renew our minds with the word and then rest in our position. When the world leads us to do this or that … stop and pray and meditate on His word and listen to the leading of the spirit … he will give you wisdom from above … you have access … right here, right now. Measure you steps wisely. What if … this was your first day of never making the wrong decision again? you can decide for that to become a reality. People would look at you and say; “he’s the wisest person I have ever met.” They would be drawn to you like a magnet, but you would need to be careful …, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” And then, if you don’t take your new found wisdom personally, others will rightfully be drawn to Christ through you.

The story of Noah gives us some good examples of how we are to follow God’s wisdom. God gave Noah a glimpse of the future and told him to build an ark. We can only imagine the laughter that Noah endured as he followed God’s instructions for some 120 years. I would guess that his sons and wife were complaining that their lives had been disrupted with Noah's new list of priorities. The idea of making provision for all of these animals must have also been considered foolish by all of them with much complaining. The sheer size of the ark must have brought many observers to point and laugh. Additionally, a project of this size would require all of Noah’s resources and many years. God gave wisdom to Noah. I am sure that Noah spent many nights and days listening for God’s leading moment by moment. Of course when the floods came, everyone thought Noah was the wisest person they had ever seen … I’m sure his sons were thanking him then. But Noah knew better, he built an alter to the Lord and gave God all of the glory.

Even today, people who are considered wise according to the worlds standards laugh and make light of the story of Noah. They say that it is impossible and that this story is clear evidence that the Bible is not true. But how do they explain the discovery of the ark? When you read about the new find and watch the video, you will see several far-fetched attempts to explain away the clear and compelling evidence. They will come up with any excuse they can to explain away God and His truth such as: "Even if the team did find a wooden structure or even a boat on Mount Ararat, there are other explanations for what the structure might be. For example, it could be a shrine constructed by early Christians to commemorate the site where they believed Noah's Ark should be, Zimansky said." Uh ... yeah right, a boat, built as a shrine 10,000 feet up a mountain, secretly built by ancient believers ... hidden away ... is that an idiotic stretch or what? If the flood were to happen today, they would be looking to men for explanations … such as global warming. What foolishness. Millions say they believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent and the creator of all things and yet they then fall in line to follow the wisdom of the world … like blind sheep. Our supposed wise leaders are not even capable of calling an Islamic terrorist ... an Islamic terrorist. Now that’s wisdom for you. They have fallen down to worship words like tolerance, religious equality, and political correctness, and rejected God's absolute truth as they turn truth into something that changes from day to day. Giving these words new meaning that was never intended. Welcome to chaos. As long as it is politically and scientifically correct, we are allowed to believe it. Otherwise, they say we are ignorant ... regardless of the facts. Do you really think that the Creator of the universe has tolerance for the false religions and false teachings of the world? Never! All religions are not equal in God’s sight. Those who choose to reject God's free gift of eternal life and follow the teachings of the world; or their human logic; or false religions; or their lust and pride, will suffer the wrath of God.

Do you think God found Noah by accident? Absolutely ... no way. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God” We need to be like Noah and God will talk to us also. So how do you find this wisdom Christ has bestowed upon us?Well we must walk with Christ and abide above, rest in your position, meditate upon the word. Ask questions. Write down the worlds answers to the questions. Now, search the word of God regarding these questions. Many verses will come up. Read them, memorize them meditate upon them. Now ask yourself this question: “do the the worlds answers support or refute God’s word?" If God’s word is disregarded by the world, you have likely found wisdom from above that needs to be strongly considered. When you meditate on the word you should rest on the word and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom as to how it might apply to your life. Now just be quiet and listen for God’s leading. He will guide you just as he did Noah.

Next: Christ became to us righteousness from God.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21God Bless you my friends, BobPray to receive Christ as Savior

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Mathew 5: 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Corinthians 1:1-11 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

Many years ago, I was told of distant relatives who had become sold on joining the church of scientology because of the profits their church associations were bringing them in their business. The day before they were to join, they decided to go to the local Christian church and be baptized. They wanted to make sure that they would be covered, if the claims of Christianity were true. So what do you think? Are they covered? Only a fool would rest on such thin ice, but only God can and will judge them. But if those were the only choices that I had, I would rather have the prayer of a fool, than no prayer to Christ at all. It never ceases to amaze me though, the way that people play games with God. Recently, I read about a Christian living in an adulterous relationship. When confronted by his pastor, He replied; “don’t worry about it pastor, I’m a carnal Christian.”

I want to talk today about sanctification.This is a big word that is often misunderstood. In both the Greek and Hebrew, to sanctify means to “set apart” for God’s possession and use. This is the reason Paul calls the Christians at Corinth, saints. Were all of the Corinthians living a sanctified daily walk? Were they all walking a Mother Teresa-like walk? We know that they were not. “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren … that there are contentions among you.” Once a person calls Jesus their Lord, and faithfully prays for his promised eternal salvation … at that moment, we are ALL sanctified and set apart for eternity, and also, from that moment on, we become saints. We are saints not because we are sinless, but rather we are saints because of our calling from God. He is eternally sanctified. He is Holy. “I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am Holy.” Leviticus 21:8. Jesus Christ is Holy, undefiled and separate from sinners. He is waiting for us in Heaven, and spiritually we have a sanctified position with Jesus in Heaven.As we are also justified through Christ at Calvary, and as His righteousness lives through us, and as we have been redeemed, we are also positioned in His sanctification eternally.

There is obviously a big difference between our fully sanctified position in Christ, and our earthly physical condition which is daily being sanctified. We must never confuse the two. Our present condition is a work in progress.It is the work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify us in our current condition. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ... Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thes. 4:3-4; 5: 23-24Our earthly sanctification is his will and His work.As we renew our minds, He will transform and conform us to His will ... the character and likeness of Christ. Our condition will change as we are transformed into His righteousness, but none will become fully sanctified in the flesh … not one.

“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.” Jude 1:1.As you see in this verse, Jude says … peace and love be multiplied. He would never say this to the sanctified Christ who is perfect and Holy … peace and love personified. If believers perfection was complete, he would not say it to them either. But there is work to be done. Our condition is being sanctified as we are transformed. But make no mistake, positionally … we are eternally saints and our eternal sanctification is safe and secure with Christ in Heaven. It is our calling of God and like our salvation in Christ, it is not up for discussion with Him. This is true for every believer, including carnal believers … but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. We are preserved in Jesus Christ. We are set apart for God’s unique use. He has called us to his service. All of our remaining life on earth is considered to be in God’s service, whether we acknowledge it, or not. If a Christian chooses to take this fact lightly, he will suffer the consequences.

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Mathew 5:48.So, what are we to do with this command of Christ? Learning to live the love of Christ is obviously a good place to start. Need a to-do list? I suggest reading all of Mathew 5 and 1 Corinthians 13, and as you renew your mind … rest in your sanctified position. The Holy Spirit will transform your thinking and guide you into learning the deeper truths of living out the love of Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

Then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. Hebrews 10:9-10God Bless You MY Friends, BobPray to receive Christ as Savior

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About Me

Paradox Principles ...

often contradict the wisdom of the world.Since we have been programmed by the world ...we have come to accept these worldly ideas as truth ...but when we consider God’s perspective ...we come to understand ..."the Lord's ways are not our ways"

Renew and Transform

Don't just read these writings ...meditate and pray over God's Word ...Listen to the Holy Spirit ...and be transformed by renewing your mind.He who died on our behalf wants you to ...allow the love of Christ to control you ...so that you might become ...the righteousness of God in Him.

Be an Ambassador of Christ ...with a ministry of reconciliation.Share God's eternal Truth and Love ...with everyone He brings into your path.